


Percabeth~(TLT's Animal Trailer Scene)

by DaughterOfTheDead (DisneyDCOMLOVER)



Series: Percabeth Oneshots [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: But whatever, F/M, TLT scene, short and kinda cringy honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:54:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29251035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyDCOMLOVER/pseuds/DaughterOfTheDead
Summary: TLT's Animal Trailer Scene with a little more *percabeth*
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Grover Underwood, Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase
Series: Percabeth Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147832
Kudos: 16





	Percabeth~(TLT's Animal Trailer Scene)

**Author's Note:**

> So I was reading a fanfic. "Annabeth Chase and The Lightning Thief". So TLT from Annabeth's POV. I came across that scene with the trio in that animal trailer thing on the way to Vegas. So I thought "This needs more Percabeth." Cue me opening a new google doc (in the middle of math class btw), finding the original TLT pdf and making this. That's the background no one needed to know. 
> 
> All characters and many quotes of the book belong to Rick Riordan. I only changed it to give us a little more Percabeth :D

The trailer was dark inside until I uncapped Riptide. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a horribly sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy and rusted metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever seen: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for. Someone-probably one of the guys we saw inside the diner-had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. Unless those two creatures were going to become carnivores, the meat isn't going anywhere. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. I grimaced at the thought. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that were kind of hard to read but with a little bit of deciphering, I realized that it said OVER THE HILL! Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting tiredly from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.

 _"This_ is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?" He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and I would've helped him. Looking at Annabeth, it seemed like she would've too, but just then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down. Grover and I sat down as Annabeth stood, still staring in disbelief at the caged animals. I was about to tell her to sit down but she ended up falling down before I could say anything. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me before her head hit the side of the trailer.

We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, yet they just stared at him in sadness. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. "Besides," I said, "I have a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips." The others nodded in response as I found a water jug and refilled their bowls. I then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages, giving the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.

Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane as well, but Grover said that that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. I told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then got comfortable for the night. As comfortable you can be in a smelly, messy, small trailer.

Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuffed Oreos and nibbled on one carelessly. She seemed to be contemplating our chances of living. I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June 14th. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. We could make it in plenty of time. _Right?_

On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it—he had put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched. I was a source of entertainment for the gods. Especially Ares. I could tell the God of War was up to something, but I shook it off. I was never a detective and probably never would be.

"Hey," Annabeth said, knocking me out of my thoughts. "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."

I sent her a small smile as she scooted closer to me. "It's okay."

Her expression held guilt. "It's just....." She shuddered, bringing her knees up to her chest. "Spiders."

"Because of the Arachne story," I guessed. Annabeth seemed surprised I knew about that. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"

Annabeth nodded slowly, "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you." She looked up at me and with the dim light of Riptide, I could see her stormy-gray eyes full of fear. Fear from the spiders, maybe just this quest in general, I didn't know.

"We're a team, remember?" I said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."

I thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the opposite side of the trailer, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"

Annabeth and I laughed. She pulled apart an Oreo, handed me half. It felt like what a regular mortal group of friends would do. Laugh about random things, and eat junk food. But of course, it's not that simple when you're a Half-Blood trying to stop World War |||. "Percy. In the Iris-message, did Luke really say nothing?" Annabeth said, seeming _concerned._

I sighed, knowing I'd have to tell them at some point. I took a small bite of my cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all night. "Luke had said that you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree." I glanced at Grover.

He let out a mournful bray. "I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."

"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." He nodded glumly. "And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp..." I turned my attention to Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?" My voice softened.

She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me towards help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us." She seemed like she was about to cry. I could only imagine how hard it must've been for her to lose Thalia like that. I felt her shift closer to me- we were now less than an inch apart.

"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," Grover said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought-I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker-"

"Stop it," Annabeth chided. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."

"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."

"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?' I asked. "That's not fair."

"Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."

Grover kept sniffling in the dark. He leaned over to get more comfortable against the side of the trailer. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."

"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. Her expression softened and she looked cute in the dim light of my sword. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now." 

She kicked me in the shin.

"Yeah," I said, glaring at her, though I found it hard to. "It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."

I heard a deep, satisfied sigh from his side of the trailer. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen asleep. "How does he do that?" I marveled, almost chuckling.

"I don't know," Annabeth said, a small smile crossing her lips. "But that was really a nice thing you told him."

"I meant it." I said. "And I didn't need the kick to tell him that."

"Oh shut up." She mumbled, kicking me again.

"Would you stop that?!" I whisper-yelled.

"How does 'no' sound?" She smirked at me. It soon turned into a kicking fight between the two of us, waking Grover up once, which he responded with a 'you guys are crazy' statement and going back to sleep.

We calmed down, a small smile on my face as Annabeth rested her head on my shoulder. 

We rode in silence for a couple of miles as I watched Annabeth fiddle with her beads on her necklace. She seemed to be thinking deep, strategic thoughts, as she leaned her head back on the wall of the trailer.

"That pine-tree bead," I started. "Is that from your first year?" She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.

"Yeah," she said, quietly. "Every August, the counsellors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress – now that was a weird summer." She chuckled to herself.

"And the college ring is your father's?" I asked.

"That's none of your-" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"You don't have to tell me." I rushed out.

"No... it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have got through his doctoral programme at Harvard without her... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."

"That doesn't sound so bad." I offered.

"Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued." She had started to ramble. "I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."

I didn't know what to say, and when that happens I tend to say something utterly stupid. "You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?" _Point proven._

She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please." She said rolling her eyes. "I'm not into self-inflicted pain."

"You shouldn't give up," I told her. "You should write him a letter or something."

"Thanks for the advice," she said, coldly. "But my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with." She turned away from me then. I felt kind of bad for bringing it up in the first place.

Silence fell over us again, this time, more of an uncomfortable silence. I had assumed Annabeth was asleep but when I looked at her, she was awake, and she seemed like she had been crying.

"So if the gods fight," I said, pretending to not see her red eyes. "Will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War?" My voice softened as she turned back to face me. "Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"

She put her head on my shoulder and sighed contently.

"I don't know what my mom will do. Please, I almost never know what she'll do. I just know I'll fight next to you." Her reply surprised me. We had known each other for a solid week or two at most. Our parents were enemies.

"Why?" I asked. She chuckled, shifting a little, her head now resting on my chest. I swear I was hyperventilating. Did I mention she's cute when she's not trying to kill someone?

"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain." I let a smile appear on my face. "Any more stupid questions?"

I couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately I didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep. I pulled her closer and rested my head against the backpack Ares had given us. With Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, you'd think it would be hard to sleep. Oddly enough, with Annabeth leaning on me, it was relaxing. 

**Author's Note:**

> If someone has a better idea for the title of this one-shot, please tell me.


End file.
